{"id":354211,"date":"2020-07-09T06:26:12","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T13:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=354211"},"modified":"2025-05-08T16:53:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T23:53:50","slug":"covid-19-cdc-supports-state-dashboards-to-better-monitor-cases-and-capacity","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/covid-19-cdc-supports-state-dashboards-to-better-monitor-cases-and-capacity","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: CDC Supports State Dashboards to Better Monitor Cases and Capacity"},"author":811,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[731],"tags":[288662,431761,279502,160522,40532],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[491702],"esri_blog_department":[478192],"class_list":["post-354211","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-cdc","tag-covid19","tag-dashboards","tag-health","tag-monitoring","esri-blog-category-health","esri_blog_department-gis-for-good"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"CDC uses mapping to monitor the spread of COVID-19 at the county level, following up on any spike to lend a hand in quelling every outbreak.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"CDC supports states with software and services to enhance their awareness of COVID-19 cases and safeguard public health.\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Reopening plans involve data visualization and reporting, including mapping.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Data-driven approaches include counting cases and providing daily updates by way of dashboards.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Improved state dashboards will help states and CDC respond more effectively.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"At the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a new effort is under way to assist states in creating or enhancing localized COVID-19 dashboards and maps for the public.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s a real demand for dynamic visualizations of all kinds of data in all of our emergency responses, and particularly in this one that\u2019s affecting every US community but in a way that differs across the country,\u201d said Debra Lubar, deputy director of management and operations for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at CDC.\r\n\r\nThe path of public health data goes from local to state to national levels, with state authorities aggregating details from their local colleagues. With high demand for local information about the spread, CDC focuses on helping states communicate those data with the public. Dashboards displaying data and maps to convey COVID-19 case locations and counts have become the standard for communicating status and trends in the global pandemic.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere are critical data elements that are really important for people to see about their communities, where their families live, or places they plan to travel,\u201d Lubar said. \u201cSeveral states, such as Missouri, have developed dashboards that are good examples of how data can be made available and useful to the public.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":355901,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/missouri-coronavirus-gis-hub-mophep.hub.arcgis.com\/app\/1aa9c96482d54ccfb309679015313fd2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Presenting Health Data to the Public<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCDC has close partnerships with state public health agencies and issues grant awards to assist with internal data collection and disease surveillance. The current and ongoing effort with states has a different, more external focus, aiming to help them deliver data to residents, civic leaders, and public health administrators.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen that many states, including New York, South Dakota, and South Carolina, have been communicating effectively with the public, providing substantial granularity and transparency,\u201d Lubar said. \u201cCDC will continue providing support that will help states improve these efforts. We\u2019ve worked to ease their participation, in part by recognizing that different states may have different needs.\u201d\r\n\r\nLike the disease, much is new about the effort to get cutting-edge technology into the hands of state public health professionals so they can display their own data. \u201cCDC is providing access to tools and funding to state health departments that are leading public health actions in response to the pandemic,\u201d Lubar said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":354421,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"While the work isn\u2019t centered on standards or mandates, the CDC has shared best practices and guidance based on the kinds of questions it has been fielding. The basic data points include case counts, case rates, and recent trends for cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and testing.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve also encouraged states to add relevant demographic data, such as racial, ethnic, gender, and age information,\u201d Lubar said.\r\n\r\nArmed with this information, states and localities will be better equipped to monitor the impacts and mitigate risks, and federal resources can go where they are needed most, because everyone will be working from the same data.\r\n<h3><strong>Unprecedented in So Many Ways<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCounting and reporting details about each COVID-19-infected person presents new challenges for public health officials. Apart from exceptions such as foodborne illnesses and influenza, most infectious diseases in the modern era have low case numbers and outbreaks have been rare events with limited scope.\r\n\r\nAn outbreak involving the food supply can impact <em>thousands<\/em> of people, and each case is counted. Most outbreaks have been quickly investigated and halted. Influenza, on the other hand, impacts <em>millions<\/em> of people per year. In this case, a combination of surveillance and scientific methods can be used to reliably estimate the impact and outcomes instead of counting each case.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe way we\u2019re tracking this disease is really different,\u201d Lubar said. \u201cOur systems have to grow and flex to accommodate a pandemic where it\u2019s important to know about each case and be able to trace the contacts.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Better information about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/introducing-community-contact-tracing\/\">location of cases<\/a> has also taken on greater importance.\r\n\r\n\u201cUnderstanding where cases are occurring is critical to understanding how disease is spreading,\u201d Lubar said. \u201cNew technology, combined with the globalization of the world population and trade, have really showed us new ways that diseases spread. Spatial analysis is critical to that.\u201d\r\n\r\nCDC also uses mapping to monitor the spread of disease at the county level and reaches out to states to offer assistance if they detect a spike in the number of cases."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":354411,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Dashboards Help States Remain Vigilant<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCDC contracts with Esri, an international supplier of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/what-is-gis\/overview\">geographic information system (GIS)<\/a> services and products, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-dashboards\/overview\">ArcGIS Dashboards<\/a>, to build new, or enhance existing publicly available COVID-19 data dashboards. (Editor's note: Mention of Esri and its products and services does not constitute an endorsement by CDC.) The effort focuses on the need to provide easily accessible and transparent information to guide mitigation measures.\r\n\r\nSeveral states don\u2019t yet have a dashboard. Through this new contract, they can request tools and services to build one. In states where a dashboard already exists, requests for enhancements can be made, such as automating data workflows, exposing services or APIs to improve sharing and collaboration, and applying best practices to data flows and visualizations. Each CDC\/Esri engagement with a state is expected to last one to three weeks. As of this writing, three projects with states are complete and ten are underway.\r\n\r\nCDC has recently awarded $10.25 billion dollars to US states and territories, and this support has a heavy focus on testing as well as data modernization and transparency.\r\n\r\nThe work on the dashboards is part of a larger data modernization and transparency initiative at CDC. The dashboarding project provides one way to improve consistent and reliable information to monitor the occurrence of COVID-19 cases across the country, giving states and the CDC insight they need to take action.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe want to be ready and the data will help us,\u201d Lubar said.\r\n\r\nThe enhanced reporting effort will also help states and CDC learn more about this pandemic to continually improve surveillance systems and the approach to protect public health, she added.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to learn from the arc of this outbreak for years to come,\u201d Lubar said.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus-disasterresponse.hub.arcgis.com\/\">COVID-19 GIS Hub<\/a>\u00a0for location intelligence resources. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/solutions.arcgis.com\/local-government\/help\/coronavirus-response\/\">Coronavirus Response<\/a>\u00a0solutions page provides a collection of maps and apps that can be used by agencies to understand the virus\u2019s impact and share information about the pandemic with the public."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CDC Supports State Dashboards to Better Monitor Cases and Capacity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CDC lends support to states to create or enhance public-facing COVID-19 dashboards to provide critical details to help mitigate the spread of this disease.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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